Great progress has been made in the last few years in the application of olefins metathesis in organic synthesis. Some ruthenium carbene complexes acting as (pre)catalysts have been developed, which possess a high activity in various metathesis reactions as well as a broad tolerance for a number of functional groups. This combination of characteristics is a basis for the usability of such (pre)catalysts in organic synthesis.
Moreover, for the practical application, especially in industrial scale, it is very desirable that these ruthenium complexes are stable for a longer period of time in the conditions of thermal load and that they can be stored, purified and applied without the atmosphere of protective gases.
Ruthenium complexes with the above mentioned characteristics are known in literature. See J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 8168–8179 or Tetrahedron Lett. 2000, 41, 9973–9976.
However, it has been discovered that a better stability is connected with a lower catalytic activity. Such a limitation was found for example for the (pre)catalyst of the formula A (see Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 2002, 114, 832).

Next, (pre)catalysts of the formula B and C were described, which demonstrate a higher catalytic activity in comparison with the (pre)catalyst of the formula A. The catalysts A, B and C contain an iso-propoxy group chelating the metal atom. The reason for a higher activity of the systems B and C is a steric hindrance caused by the presence of a phenyl or a (substituted) naphthyl group in ortho-position to the iso-propoxy group (Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 2002, 114, 832; Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 2002, 114, 2509).
It has been found surprisingly that ruthenium complex (pre)catalysts of general formula 1, demonstrate much higher catalytic activity in comparison to known highly active ruthenium complexes and that these complexes are at the same time thermal and air stable.